Lord Rix: He is.
Lord Rix: My Lords, as a Yorkshire lad I must congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, on her remarkable and moving maiden speech, garnered no doubt from many years of personal and—I would hazard—heartbreaking experience. We welcome her most warmly to the House, and to the Cross Benches. Her wisdom and personal commitment will be of the greatest benefit to us all, and we look forward to many...
Lord Rix: My Lords, I declare an interest as Chancellor of the University of East London. Are the Government aware of the problems encountered by universities like mine in the issue of visas to overseas students, particularly those from China? What are the Government doing to ensure that no further damage is done to the recruitment of overseas students—again, to universities like mine?
Lord Rix: My Lords, I rise to welcome this Bill and am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this very important Second Reading debate. I would like to declare an interest as president of the Royal Mencap Society and as a member of the joint parliamentary committee which scrutinised the draft Bill under the excellent chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Carter. I have no doubt that this legislation...
Lord Rix: My Lords, is the Minister aware that perhaps the most bullied of all are people with a learning disability, children and adults? What steps are being taken to improve that situation?
Lord Rix: My Lords, it is always a pleasure and an honour to follow the noble Lords, Lord Ashley of Stoke and Lord Morris of Manchester. Like them, I most warmly welcome this Bill and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this Second Reading debate. I have a long-standing interest in and awareness of the difficulties facing carers of people with a learning disability, both from my personal...
Lord Rix: My Lords, it is always a pleasure, and sometimes a pleasant surprise, to be able to thank the Minister and the Government for changing their minds and accepting an amendment, even if they had to rewrite two amendments on this occasion. As we have heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, there are still many issues to be settled in regard to part-time education. But if the Government are as...
Lord Rix: moved Amendment No. 26: Page 31, line 29, at end insert— "( ) The Director shall report on the equity and effectiveness of the schemes of financial assistance provided by institutions under section 31(4)(b), and the Director may make recommendations on a national scheme of financial assistance."
Lord Rix: My Lords, Amendment No. 26 is a probing amendment affecting Schedule 5 to the Bill. Unfortunately the Minister is not in her place, but I am sure that she is well aware of all that I shall say—and here she comes. At the risk of some repetition I again declare my non-pecuniary interest as chancellor of the University of East London, as I return to the subject of the Government's proposals...
Lord Rix: My Lords, I wonder whether I may respond to that question?
Lord Rix: My Lords, I am delighted with the Minister's response from the Dispatch Box and I thank her and her department for it. I am sure the vice-chancellors whom I know—they have doubts about whether the scheme is as effective as the national bursary scheme—will also be delighted by the response. The fact that the scheme can be examined and decided on in the future is a major step forward and I...
Lord Rix: My Lords, I spent more than a few moments yesterday morning in the boiling hot sunshine crouched over my word processor to make notes on Amendments Nos. 28, 36 and 55, because my name is attached to them. However, as a result of the impassioned speeches that I have heard from all around the House, I no longer intend to use those notes. I had the honour to receive my first honorary degree from...
Lord Rix: moved Amendment No. 40: Page 15, line 2, at beginning insert "subject to the approval of the Director of Fair Access under subsection (4A) below,"
Lord Rix: My Lords, my probing amendments, Amendments Nos. 40 and 43, relate to the tax and benefit implications of bursary schemes. It was said of John Erskine, the Earl of Mar—a distant kinsman of my noble friend Lady Mar, who is certainly non-Jacobite—after he had lost the battle of Sheriffmuir, that he was a better Churchman than he was a general because his right hand knew not what his left...
Lord Rix: My Lords, before the Minister sits down, the stress of his answer, which is largely acceptable, centred on benefits accruing to full-time students. He made no mention of part-time or mature students. Will he elaborate a little on that?
Lord Rix: My Lords, with that assurance and, like many noble Lords in the Chamber, not being totally au fait with the tax system, I am happy to accept the Minister's response. I hope that the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, is satisfied—
Lord Rix: My Lords, so far—and it is a question of so far. We will look closely at the Minister's response. I shall consult with various vice-chancellors and directors of finance at one or two local universities. If I need to return to the subject at Third Reading, I shall do so, but at the moment I am happy to withdraw my amendment. I hope that the Minister's answer will suffice.
Lord Rix: My Lords, as Chancellor of the University of East London, I trust that the additional funds which students will be providing for their own education are used to enable vice-chancellors to support general student experience and not to enable the other chancellor—the Chancellor of the Exchequer—to support general state expenditure.
Lord Rix: My Lords, I shall not detain your Lordships for long, but as the Disability Rights Commission's 14-page parliamentary briefing on this Second Reading includes Mencap writ large on the cover and as Mencap's Housing Timebomb report is quoted on page 3, I felt that, as president of that organisation, I should take this opportunity to say a word about access to housing for people with learning...
Lord Rix: I shall be brief; I can hear sighs of relief all round. I support Amendments Nos. 165, 169, 226 and 229. Many disability organisations, including Mencap, of which I am the president, believe that local safeguarding children boards hold the key to whether disabled child abuse is taken seriously and tackled effectively. While looking forward to hearing further details about the general...